10 gallon nano reef diary/n00b questions

[AquaD]

I have a spare 10g sitting around the house and I want to turn it into a nano reef! I did a lot of reading online and feel like I have the bare bone basics, but I still need some help with technical stuff, and most importantly stocking the aquarium. I will give a run down on what I have so far as far as gear goes.

Lights:
Going to be getting the 18" Nova Extreme T5

Filter:
Right now I have an Aqua-Tech that used to run on the tank when it was freshwater, filter seemed to work well. Might upgrade this.

Powerheads:
I have two powerheads that I can run, I have one old Powerhead 301 with 175GPH. The other is a Maxi-Jet with 275GPH. Would both of these be good to use?

Heater:
Planning on getting an Aqueon Pro 100 watt heater.

That's it as far as the gear goes. As for livestock I was thinking of getting a cleaner crew from reefcleaners.org. For corals I am interested in the soft corals, I do like zoas so I want to have some of them. Finally fish I feel pretty lost. I like the gobies and blennies but really don't know which ones would go with a 10g nano. I keep reading different things. Also since I am going to be going topless:eek3: I am wary of some of the gobies as I read that they can be quite the jumpers.

Thanks for reading!

[greech]

Lighting sounds good. Not familiar with the filter but if it is a HOB filter you can use it for extra water flow and also run some media when/if it is needed.

Flow shold be fine to start but thinking you may want to upgrade to a PH that provides a wider flow pattern. Something like a Koralia or Tunze. The other option would be the maxijet propeller add-on kit. Very cheap and the do a really good job of widening the flow. Or you may just want to wait, see if SW is something you want to do and save money for an upgrade :)

From what I have seen the aqueon heaters are really long so make sure it will fit in the tank.

Reefcleaners is a great place to get CUCs, macro, etc but know that they will send you WAY more snails, crabs, etc that you will ever want.

Both blennies and gobies will jump. The watchmen gobies would be a good choice as they tend to stay smaller although some get larger. The Yasha goby is very nice and stays under 2". The watchmens also pair up well with pistol shrimp which is a cool relationship to watch. Tailspot and flametal blennies stay small and have a ton of personality. I would avoid lawnmower blennies and the like. Just get too big and need a fair amount of alge to graze on.

[OrionGirl]

I'm going to presume that you've already read about bigger being better and more stable, but caution you anyway--a topless 10 gallon is going to experience a LOT more evaporation, which is going to make it harder to stabilize. If you won't add a top, then add something for auto-topoff. I wouldn't plan on adding any corals until the tank has been stable for 2-3 months.

Zoas are really aggressive corals. In a small volume, you might have problems with their toxins killing off any other corals. Since you're planning on using a filter, run carbon. This will help.

Livestock...I wouldn't add a full cleaner crew right off the bat. The stability issues, plus the issue of having adequate food for the animals will be a challenge. You'll be better off, IMO, starting with 3-4 hermit crabs, 3-4 snails (a mix of cerith and turbos). Get good quality live rock. Add a shrimp or two (peppermints, blood, cleaners, etc). Look at the basslets. Some are very pretty, and have good personalities.

[AquaD]

Thanks for the replies! If I were to add a top would it be better as far as letting in to get a glass top or plexiglass? I was also looking at test kits and am curious as to what the difference between the API freshwater and saltwater master test kits is? Could I use my freshwater one for saltwater?
For the powerheads if I do want to upgrade would I just use one powerhead if I got a koralia, or should I still use two?
On corals what options do I have to choose from that would work with my light setup? I am going to have to stick with soft? If so can anyone suggest some good beginner corals?

Thanks for reading all the questions!